User talk:Mike Cline/Articles Under Contemplation/Joseph D. Bates Jr.

Joseph D. Bates Jr. (1903-September 30, 1988) was a prolific author of outdoor and angling books and articles on the subject of fly fishing. He is most noted for his works related to the study of classic streamer and Atlantic salmon flies. Bates was a World War II veteran in the Massachusetts National Guard and retired from the U.S. Army with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He was often referred to as Colonel Bates and Carrie Stevens, a noted fly tyer, named a streamer pattern after him–The Colonel Bates–to celebrate his work on the history and art of streamers, bucktails and Atlantic salmon flies. He was an avid angler and collector of trout and classic Atlantic salmon flies as well as other angling memorabilia. He authored 17 works on various angling topics and wrote numerous articles for angling and outdoor publications. His Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing (1966), Atlantic Salmon Flies and Fishing (1970) and Streamers and Bucktails (1979) are considered seminal works on the subject. His early works on spin fishing popularized this technique in the U.S. after World War II.

Early life
Bates was the son of Joseph D. Bates, an advertising executive from West Springfield, Massachusetts and Josephine Avery Bates of Tatham Hill in Springfield. He attended local elementary and secondary schools. He started university at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1926 in pursuit of an engineering degree but discontinued that education after his first year. He returned to West Springfield to pursue a career in advertising with his father's firm Snow, Bates & Orme Inc. He and his wife, Helen Ellis Bates moved to Longmeadow, Massachusetts in 1935. They had two children, Bruce Ellis Bates and Pamela Bates Richards.

Streamers and Atlantic salmon flies
Bates had been a collector of historic flies before World War II but began collecting in earnest after the war. He would routinely visit and correspond with prominent fly tiers as he researched information for articles and eventually his books on flies and fly tying. The publication of Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing in 1966 documented his extensive research into the origins and histories of a great many streamer and bucktail patterns and their tiers. The book gave many prominent anglers and tiers such as Carrie Stevens, Joe Brooks, and Lew Oatman national exposure. Bates' correspondence with anglers and fly tiers has help preserve and document the histories of many famous fly tiers. The book was revised and reprinted in 1970 and is still considered the classic reference on these patterns.

In 1975, Bates helped compile the best articles from the The Atlantic Salmon Journal into a limited edition anthology entitled The Atlantic Salmon Treasury. The journal was the publication of the Atlantic Salmon Association of Montreal, now the Atlantic Salmon Federation. The anthology captured the best works on the history and lore of Atlantic Salmon fish by many noted authors and anglers such as Dana Lamb, Anthony Netboy and Lee Wulff. The anthology was illustrated by noted wildlife artists Milton C. Weiler and Charles DeFeo. In 1981, Bates wrote the forward to Montana angler and fly tier George Grant's Montana Trout Flies praising the art of Grant's fly tying.

Legacy
Much of Bates' lifetime collection of flies and angling memorabilia was sold at public auction in 1990, many of his items including reference copies of classic streamer and Atlantic salmon flies were donated to the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont. The Bate's collection at the annual R. W. Oliver Gallery's High Roller's auction in Kennebunk, Maine, realized $52,542 for the Bate's estate.

Working references
- re artist in Bates Books

Category:People from Longmeadow, Massachusetts Category:1903 births Category:1988 deaths Category:Fly fishing